Just as
innocently as a child we can find ourselves in situations where our pride and
greed get the better of us. Once is not
a bad thing. However, we need to be
cautious that they do not become bad habits which eventually will turn into great
sins.
In today’s Gospel Luke gives a beautiful contrast between the
rich man and Lazarus. The rich man has a
lavish lifestyle and has fallen into bad habits which become a bane to him,
prohibiting him from seeing that they are truly sinful. He exhibits what we would consider the cardinal
vices: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony,
wrath
and sloth. Thus for these he is condemned to suffering
eternally. As we hear in Jeremiah, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human
beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.”
Lazarus on the other hand
was a poor man who spent his days in the doorway of the rich man. Seeing Lazarus across the chasm with our
father of faith, Abraham, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus over so the
Lazarus could drop some water on his tongue to refresh him. The rich man even in death hasn’t fully
learned. Abraham must explain to him
that Lazarus was a good faithful man. In
fact we can almost imagine him the very opposite of the rich man exhibiting in
his difficult life the Cardinal virtues: prudence,
justice, temperance (meaning restriction or restraint),
and courage
(or fortitude), faith, hope,
and charity.
Why are we given these
two men as examples? Jesus wants us to
understand the correct way of living the way that Our Father wants us to live
in our covenant with him. For the rich
man he had Abraham to explain and show him the error of his way. For us, we have Christ. And he reminds us, “If they will not listen
to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should
rise from the dead.” Let us not be hard
headed like the rich man, but prayerfully ask the Lord his mercy and
forgiveness that we may one day be ushered through the door of Heaven, just as poor
Lazarus who sat patiently at the door waiting to be asked in.
(Side note: Cardinal comes from a Latin word meaning hinge. They are the hinge upon which the door swings good or bad.)
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